14 dead after overloaded truck crashes in Texas
McALLEN, Texas (AP) - A pickup truck overloaded with illegal immigrants veered off a highway and crashed into trees in rural South Texas, killing at least 14 people and leaving 9 injured, authorities said.
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Homeland Security Investigations agents were looking into the human smuggling aspect of the case. A Texas Department of Public Safety accident reconstruction team meanwhile investigated the cause of the Sunday evening crash in Goliad County, about 150 miles northeast of the border with Mexico.
ICE spokesman Greg Palmore said that among the 11 men and three females who died were citizens of Mexico, Guatemala and Honduras.
Gerald Bryant, a spokesman for the Texas Department of Public Safety, said at least 23 passengers were crammed inside the truck's cab and bed, including at least two young children whom he saw among the dead.
"This is the most people I've seen in any passenger vehicle, and I've been an officer for 38 years," Bryant said.
The driver was among the 11 found dead at the scene, Bryant said, adding that investigators were trying to confirm his name. Six of those who died in the crash were still inside the mangled vehicle when emergency crews arrived at the scene, Bryant said.
The white 2000 Ford F-250 pickup was heading north on U.S. 59 when it drove off the right side of the highway near the unincorporated community of Berclair and struck two large trees, Bryant said. Berclair is about 90 miles southeast of San Antonio.
The truck was registered in Houston to someone other than the driver, Bryant said.
A DPS accident reconstruction team was investigating the accident, but Bryant said it could be another week or two before it is concluded. U.S. ICE agents were working to confirm the identities of the victims and investigate the possibility that they had been smuggled into the United States.
It is not uncommon for human traffickers to try to maximize profits by over-loading vehicles with illegal immigrants as they move their loads north from the Texas-Mexico border. In April, nine Mexican immigrants died near the border when the teenage driver of their van crashed after fleeing Border Patrol. There were 18 people in that minivan.
Bryant told The Associated Press that several of the survivors had life-threatening injuries. He did not have their official conditions but described them as "very serious." The injured were taken to hospitals in San Antonio, Victoria and Corpus Christi.
A Goliad County sheriff's spokesman did not immediately return a message left by the AP.
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Homeland Security Investigations agents were looking into the human smuggling aspect of the case. A Texas Department of Public Safety accident reconstruction team meanwhile investigated the cause of the Sunday evening crash in Goliad County, about 150 miles northeast of the border with Mexico.
ICE spokesman Greg Palmore said that among the 11 men and three females who died were citizens of Mexico, Guatemala and Honduras.
Gerald Bryant, a spokesman for the Texas Department of Public Safety, said at least 23 passengers were crammed inside the truck's cab and bed, including at least two young children whom he saw among the dead.
"This is the most people I've seen in any passenger vehicle, and I've been an officer for 38 years," Bryant said.
The driver was among the 11 found dead at the scene, Bryant said, adding that investigators were trying to confirm his name. Six of those who died in the crash were still inside the mangled vehicle when emergency crews arrived at the scene, Bryant said.
The white 2000 Ford F-250 pickup was heading north on U.S. 59 when it drove off the right side of the highway near the unincorporated community of Berclair and struck two large trees, Bryant said. Berclair is about 90 miles southeast of San Antonio.
The truck was registered in Houston to someone other than the driver, Bryant said.
A DPS accident reconstruction team was investigating the accident, but Bryant said it could be another week or two before it is concluded. U.S. ICE agents were working to confirm the identities of the victims and investigate the possibility that they had been smuggled into the United States.
It is not uncommon for human traffickers to try to maximize profits by over-loading vehicles with illegal immigrants as they move their loads north from the Texas-Mexico border. In April, nine Mexican immigrants died near the border when the teenage driver of their van crashed after fleeing Border Patrol. There were 18 people in that minivan.
Bryant told The Associated Press that several of the survivors had life-threatening injuries. He did not have their official conditions but described them as "very serious." The injured were taken to hospitals in San Antonio, Victoria and Corpus Christi.
A Goliad County sheriff's spokesman did not immediately return a message left by the AP.
Time to outlaw trucks since we won't prosecute those that use them.
Beware all you honest truck owners.
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Too bad, so sad
That truck was traveling at a high rate of speed to do that much damage to it and the people in it. If in fact a tire blew as reported by another party here could have easily put it in the ditch or tree. Some how, some way, we need to stop this insanity and slaughter. The government needs to get off their collective ass's and start enforcing our borders and the laws that are on the books to try to prevent another slaughter.
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The first report that I heard was that they had a tire blow and the driver then lost control.
RIP. Condolences to the families.
 I hope those currently receiving free medical care are deported as soon as possible so they can be reuinited with their families back in Mexico.
 @Ducky Good idea.  We should not call it border security but rather, the "Foreign Citizen Family Re-Unification Act."
 @Sid Vishess They are just tourists on an economy class tour of America, who will return home with T-shirts and little American flags for the family.
They had at least 23 people packed into that truck?!?!? Wowwwww.
Unfortunately this is really common in the latino culture. Â I lived in Honduras for a while and piling people into the back of a pick-up is a standard operating procedure. Â With that much weight it's easy to lose control at even a moderate amount of speed. Â RIP to the deceased, god bless to the families left behind.
Yep;Â there's a few millions down the drain.
Must have been running from someone at a high rate of speed for that to happen.Â